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Summary

Focus on Social Problems: A Contemporary Reader exposes students to current issues in the field. The selections in this reader help students understand how social problems are defined and constructed, increase their empirical knowledge about the causes and consequences of social problems, and develop empathy. Working from a critical social constructionist foundation, the readings address a wide variety of social problems. Editors Mindy Stombler and Amanda M. Jungels include a combination of research-based articles and popular media pieces. Each chapter opens with an interview of a social-change activist doing work related to the chapter's featured social problem, giving students an opportunity to envision themselves as agents of social change.

Author Biography

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Mindy Stombler is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Instruction in the Department of Sociology at Georgia State University. She is a co-editor of Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader, Fourth Edition (2013) and a recipient of the Southern Sociological Society's Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award.

Amanda M. Jungels is an ORISE Fellow studying social and behavioral health among U.S. Army soldiers. She is a past recipient of the Jacqueline Boles Teaching Fellowship and Teaching Associate Award at Georgia State University.

Table of Contents

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PrefaceContributor ListIntroduction

Chapter 1: Social Construction of Social Problems

Activist Interview: Sut Jhally1. Interpersonal Violence as Social Construction: The Potentially Undermining Role of Claims Making and Advocacy Statistics, Robin D. Perrin and Cindy L. Miller-Perrin2. Terrorism, Ziad MunsonBox: Making Claims: The Role of Language in the Construction of Social Problems, Kiersten Kummerow3. Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics, Joel Best

Chapter 2: Core American Values

Activist Interview: Stiv Wilson4. The Way We Were: Rethinking the American Dream, David Kamp5. Endangered Childhoods: How Consumerism is Impacting Child and Youth Identity, Jennifer Ann Hill6. Public Attitudes toward the Next Social Contract, Bruce StokesBox: Hidden Beneficiaries of Federal Programs, Gwen Sharp7. Political Polarization in Contemporary American Society, Megan M. TeseneBox: The Story of Citizens United v. FECr, Annie Leonard, Jonah Sachs, and Louis Fox

Chapter 3: Wealth and Income Inequality

Activist Interview: Ann Larson8. Building a Better America--One Wealth Quintile at a Time, Michael I. Norton and Dan ArielyBox: For the Public, It's Not about Class Warfare, but Fairness, Pew Research Center9. Rising Inequality and the Fading American Dream, Renee M. ShelbyBox: The "Middle Class" Myth: Here's Why Wages are Really So Low Today, Edward McClelland10. Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide, Thomas Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede, Sam Osoro11. Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%, Joseph E. StiglitzBox: Paying for Politics: How Elite Donors Purchase Political Power, Lee Drutman

Activist Interview: Josh Golin32. A Modern Empire: The Concentration of Media, Desmond GossBox: Connection Failed: Internet Still a Luxury for Many Americans, Jana Kasperkevic33. How to Stop the Bullies, Emily Bazelon34. Constructing Crime, Gary W. Potter and Victor E. KappelerBox: #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and the Power of Social Media to Change the Message, Mindy Stombler and Nate Steiner35. Equal Opportunity Objectification? The Sexualization of Men and Women on the Cover of Rolling Stone, Erin Hatton and Mary Nell TrautnerBox: At the Movies, The Women are Gone, Linda Holmes

Chapter 9: Social Problems related to Education

Activist Interview: Jesse Hagopian36. Inequality and School Resources: What Will it Take to Close the Opportunity Gap, Linda Darling-HammondBox: Why Some Schools Want to Expel Suspensions, NPR Staff37. How Schools Really Matter, Douglas B. Downey and Benjamin G. Gibbs38. The (Mis)Education of Monica and Karen, Laura Hamilton and Elizabeth A. ArmstrongBox: A Campus More Colorful than Reality: Beware that College Brochure, Deena Prichep39. Screw U: How For-Profit Colleges Rip You Off, Yasmeen Qureshi, Sarah Gross, and Lisa Desai

Chapter 12: Social Problems related to Crime and the Criminal Justice System

Activist Interview: Nicole D. Porter50. Mass Shootings and Masculinity, Tristan Bridges and Tara Leigh ToberBox: More Guns, More Mass Shootings-Coincidence?, Mark Follman51. Crimes of the Powerful: Crafting Criminality, Miriam KonradBox: Inequality in Life and Death: The Death Penalty in the U.S., Erin Thomas Echols52. For-Profit Justice: How the Private Prison Industry and the Criminal Justice System Benefit from Mass Incarceration, Amanda Atwell53. How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America, Heather Ann Thompson54. Can the Police be Reformed?, Ronald Weitzer

Chapter 13: Social Problems related to the Economy and Work

Activist Interview: Ai-jen Poo55. The Rhetoric and Reality of "Opting Out", Pamela StoneBox: How Sheryl Sandberg and Getty are Making Stock Photos Less Sexist, Claire Suddath56. Sex Segregation at Work: Persistence and Change, Anastasia Prokos57. Pride and Prejudice: Employment Discrimination against Openly Gay Men in the United States, András TilcsikBox: ENDA's End Game: Why Workplace Protections for LGBT People is a Necessary Step, J. Jennings Moss58. The Case against Racial Colorblindness in the Workplace, Carmen NobelBox: What's in a Name? Discrimination, Erin Thomas Echols59. The Hands that Feed Us: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers along the Food Chain, Food Chain Workers AllianceBox: Why U.S. Taxpayers Pay $7 Billion a Year to Help Fast-Food Workers, Allison Aubrey60. In China, the Human Costs that are Built into an iPad, Charles Duhigg and David Barboza

Chapter 14: Social Problems related to the Environment and Food System

Activist Interview: Alicia Garza66. Same-Sex, Different Attitudes, Kathleen E. Hull67. Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, Malcolm Gladwell68. Get Angry. Go Viral. Change Everything!, Alexis Jetter69. What Can We Do? Becoming Part of the Solution, Allan G. JohnsonBox: The Arc of Justice and the Long Run: Hope, History, and Unpredictability, Rebecca Solnit